


Coffee

by basketcasewrites



Series: Fictober 2018 [15]
Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: But like not that bad curses, Curses, Fluff, Other, cute boyfriends, they/them Venom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 06:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16382981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basketcasewrites/pseuds/basketcasewrites
Summary: "There are always consequences when dealing with magic, and magic users," Strange says before anybody else has a chance to speak. "Granted, I haven't encountered as special a case as yours before. When something out of the ordinary, something strange, happens, you know where to find me."Or: Who knew eating a Warlock could get   you cursed?(prompt 22 offictober prompts list: a silly or weird curse)





	Coffee

"I don't like you," Strange says, flicking through an ancient book, "And I don't much appreciate the work you've done here today."

Eddie scratches at the nape of his neck.

His clothes are drenched in sweat. Somehow he always seems to be. In the Sanctum, he fidget, feels as out of place as a penguin in the middle of the Saharan desert. "He was a bad guy," Eddie says lamely.

 **A very bad guy,** Venom agrees. Coiled around Eddie's waist, their head perches somewhere above his left shoulder.

"Oh, I know," Strange says, voice dull and paper-dry. "But there are ways of dealing with these _bad guys,_ none of which have anything to do with _eating_ them."

"We can't... un-eat him."

He speaks it, and Eddie wishes for it to be true. He wishes that he could un-eat the man— not regurgitate him, or bring him back up, but to not have eaten him at all.  
Man? Goblin? Warlock? Whatever he was, he had left the acrid taste of batteries and lemon sitting on Eddie's tongue, clinging to the roof of his mouth.

Strange is beside them, from the chair in a blink and poking at Venom. Gone before Eddie can jump and Venom can snap at the Doctor's gloved hand.

 **Do not touch.** Gravel in their voice, a storm of a direct warning.

At the bookshelf that stands across the room, Strange pulls a book, older and thicker than the one lying discarded on the abandoned seat, into his hand. He reads over browning pages. Shakes his head.

Dust lingers on the edges of glass showcases. Breathing it in, it sits in Eddie's nose and tickles against the hairs.

Throwing the book over his shoulder, landing with a shaking thud, Strange reaches for another.

Eddie and Venom share a confused glance. A sort of shrug.

"There are always consequences when dealing with magic, and magic users," Strange says before anybody else has a chance to speak. "Granted, I haven't encountered as _special_ a case as yours before. When something out of the ordinary, something strange, happens, you know where to find me."

A gesture over his shoulder, to the place Eddie vaguely remembers entering from, he begins to ask, "Can we...?"

"You're free to go." The dismissal of a person who thinks themself a god.

A twisting cape leads the way to the front door. Rudely, as if waiting all this time to be rid of them, it pushes the pair out and onto cold stone steps.

77A Bleecker Street rises behind them. It's secrets contained behind its discreet front.

Venom tucks into the spaces between Eddie and his clothes.

"Weird guy," Eddie murmurs, pulling his hood up over his head to shelter them from the light drizzle.

Something like a snort tickles at his chest. **How will we know what is 'out of the ordinary' for us, Eddie?**

 _Good question_. Eddie rushes them home.

✴️

Anne used to say Eddie sleeps weird.

Face down, squashed into the thick pillow and breathing the scent of shampoo and old sweat, Eddie wakes to a choking breath and a _yip!_ he isn't sure is from a dream or reality.

The blanket and sheet managing to tangle together and bundle around him, over his head, Eddie thinks he understands what she meant.

 _Yip!_ There is the sound again. A squeak of a sound, right by his ear.  
It's before noon, he doesn't have to check to know. Whatever it is, Eddie can't bring himself to open his eyes. To stir from his slumber.

 **Eddie?** Caution in their voice.

He answers in a low groan.

**Eddie.**

A lick up the side of Eddie's face. Soft and not familiar, feather-light and gentle.

Wiping away at the small streak of saliva on his cheek, Eddie pulls a deep exhale of breath from the well of his lungs. "Asshole," he says, exhausted, "What do you want?"

**It isn't me, dumbass.**

His eyes are crusted with sleep. It is more difficult than Eddie would like for him to crack them even the tiniest bit.

Three large pairs of eyes meet Eddie's blurry gaze. A _yip! yip! yip!_ greets him instantly. Another short lick. Another. Another.

"Oh... God... No." He drops his head back into the dip of his pillow.

°  
"I guess this is 'out of the ordinary' for us," Eddie says, an answer to a question asked hours ago, rain dripping down their backs. "Eh."

He leans against the kitchen counter. Brings a mug filled to the very brim with bitter coffee to his lips.

Venom slips from beneath Eddie's shirt, slides across the wooden floor. They nudge at this three-headed dogs ear with the round of their head. **This is what happens when we eat warlocks? We get pets?** The excitement in their voice begins to chip away at Eddie's weariness.

"We can't keep him." Eddie chugs back the rest of his coffee, if just to not have to see the disappointment etching lines into Venom's inky face. "We'll have to take him to Strange."

**But I like him.**

The dog does another one of his little yips. His tail wags happily at the words, almost as if he completely understands Venom's words.

**Coffee.**

"You want to drink some?" Eddie asks, uncertain.

Slithering across the floor, Venom makes their way back up the length of Eddie's body. Curls around his shoulders and his neck. **No. His name is Coffee.**

"You don't name things you're giving away— I thought I already taught you that," Eddie sighs.

 **We're not giving him away.** Venom stops Eddie from talking, a sweet kiss placed to the man's chin. **He is now our son. Our three-headed warlock dog son.**

**✴️**

"You can't give him away," Strange narrows his eyes and says, with an ease Eddie is growing to despise.

The Sanctum is all display cases and patterned carpets.  
Eddie isn't particularly fond of the ordered clutter, the lack of dust.  
Is not even a bit fond of the Doctor who seems to be its sole inhabitant.

An itch at his growing beard. "What do you mean... we can't give him away? I mean, sure, there's not too many people looking for mutant-magic pets but there's got to be someone, right?"

Strange kneels in front of the dog, who sits excited and straining to run from Venom's slick-strong hold.

Coffee makes a low, happy sound, Strange scratching behind his ears. "Have you named him yet?"

 **Coffee,** Venom answers. Because he he came to us in the morning.

They can't keep Coffee. Eddie just isn't one for pets and the extra care that comes with having them. But the more he thinks of it, the more the name makes Eddie smile.

Strange dips his head. Murmurs an "okay" and stands.

"So..." Eddie tugs at the hem of his loose white shirt.

"It seems the Warlock you ate yesterday wasn't to happy about what you did—" Strange begins to explain "— The whole being eaten thing."

"Who can blame him?" Eddie raised his hands in a show of slow surrender.

 **He deserved it.** Venom says at the same time.

"There is an unlimited amount of ways for a magic user's strong emotion to manifest— in spells and hexes, blessings and curses." Strange steps away from Coffee, from his attempt to nip at the heel of his boot. "Some people get a seven year jinx, you two got a dog. I'd deem myself lucky if I were you."

"You said you could help us if something 'out of the ordinary' happens," Eddie insists.

Strange disagrees, a shake of his head. "I _said:_ come see me if something out of the ordinary happens. And you have."

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see how I procrastinate, shoot me some asks or just hang out, you can find me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/shuriidyke) or at my [Venom side blog](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/unholyvenom)


End file.
